SPI History Channel

Historical Updates

2007-08-14T08:43:00.001-07:00

Here's the oldest building on SPI, as was written up by Rod Bates in his latest History to the Point column. The old Coast Guard building is thought to have been built in 1924 or maybe even before that. Excellent article if you want to stop by at that link.

On Wednesday our SPI Historical Committee had a presentation by the Texas Historical Commission, which was quite informative but after a while seemed to boil down to preserving old structures. That's a bummer because except for this beauty captured in the file photo above, "we ain't got none." To be considered truly historic, a building must be at least 50 years old. I don't think there's much on the Island that predates 1957.

But that's not going to stop us, since our community is all about people, not stinky old buildings. It is about people with names such as Balli, Tompkins, Shary, Stillman, Singer, Ila, Captain Jim, and Boomerang Billy. There are a ton of old photographs, and Jason Yetter even had a good idea to look into statues of maybe a few (we hatched this idea after the meeting). Steve Hathcock even had a great idea for a fold-out historical map.

Anyway, it is good to see that things historical are picking back up.

South Padre, 1946-1947

2007-05-15T14:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Michael Leahy of San Antonio for finding a few old pictures from the late 1940's on Flicker. I downloaded three because they looked neat. The first one is entitled "Lee's Cafe" which was reported to be the only cafe on the Island back in 1946. In fact, the legend says it was the only building on South Padre Island! We do know there may have been some coastal patrol stuff but it sure does look stark. Apparently everything was washed away by the Great Hurricane of 1933.

Below is a picture of the south jetty at Brazos Santiagos Pass. I still can't figure out if the wooden structures are railroad trestles or what. All that is left of the structure are some square concrete blocks used to support the wood.

This is my favorite in the collection. How did you get to Padre Island in 1946? Well there were ferries at times, but the most fun was Mrs. Dyke's Taxi, shown here in Port Isabel. It looks amphibious - not sure if the old causeway was open but there were no roads on SPI back then.

If you want to learn more such as about the Gulf Coast Causeway Company the National Park Service has a great website here. Apparently, the Causeway company formed in 1925 wanted to build a roadway from Port Isabel all the way to Corpus Christi, 110 miles away. The idea was based on the Florida Keys, which had a railroad and highway. A sports arena, gambling, and giant park were planned, along with cottage and motorcourt developments. If the Depression and Hurricane of 1933 hadn't happened, we might see more of what they accomplished.

Barge Moves Historic House

2007-04-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday April 18, 2007 the historic "whale-back" house on Tarpon Street was moved in order to make room to a 48-unit condo. Since the house couldn't be trucked across Queen Isabella Causeway, Marine Services was hired with their tugboat and barge, shown below.

During the first attempt, a truck on the barge pulled and a tractor pushed from the rear. The tractor at the back used a little bit too much power, so the house and barge shifted, no longer lined up on the ramps. The uniquely Texas term "kattywampus" comes to mind. However, these salvagers and house movers, acting more like a circus carny group, would not let such a small thing get in the way ...

The above picture is an early shot of re-aligning the house, boat, wheels, and creation of new ramps. The big tractor was used to pull the barge back in line, which was a feat because of the fast out-going tide. Meanwhle the tugboat was pushing at almost full throttle and fearless men scrambled underheath the house with heavy pipes, dunnage, winches, and tackle.

At last all was prepared and Ray of A-1 moving tried once to pull the house with his souped-up truck, which nearly came on board but the house setlled backwards. Smoke was everywhere - exhaust, burning clutches, burning tires, hydraulic oil, and not to mention most of the workers smoked like stoves. I tried to help out from the peanut callery, as it was getting close to 7:00 p.m. "How about that stinky old tractor to just push a little?"

Finally, with what has to be the oldest and strinkiest backhoe I ever witnessed, the house rolled up and over the dunnage with a great scream of the truck and a sigh from the house ... and honking of horns and applause. You never saw such a happier crew, which had been working since nearly dawn.

The house-on-a-barge stayed overnight, to be moved the next day on the high tide. If you have any subsequent pictures of the barge moving down to Port Isabel please let me know and I'll be more than to post some up here.

More Pics from Ann

2007-02-13T12:57:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to Ann with the Historical Committee for these pictures. The above picture is not so notable other than when it was built in 1960 it cost $1,500, and taxes were about $30 per year. Hey can we bring back those days?

Here's one of the few A-frames on the Island.

The Red Parrot (above) is well known as a stilt house.

According to the legend, this is the house where the rock band ZZ Top used to record when on the Island. As Ann noted, the new house behind it looks like it sprouted on top of it. Thanks again for the pictures, Ann!

The Round House

2007-01-28T16:20:00.000-08:00

I don't know the history of the Round House, although I do know a little about the people who stayed there. Willie Nelson was perhaps the most famous, and used to jam on guitars there with the likes of Waylon Jennings. Scarlet and George Colley fell in love there, and went on to become our Island's foremost dolphin experts. Nancy Marsden lived there for a while too, and subequently met her new husband Mike. It must be some kind of powerful love-shack, if you ask me, as everyone still is together.

It still looks good now, all painted up and with some new stairs at the bottom. It is a true architectural wonder, right here on South Padre Island.

A Few More from Downtown

2007-01-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

Today I braved the horrendous downtown traffic (hah, nothing like Austin!) and checked out the Miramar, which according to some was originally named 'Sandy Retreat.' It was the first commercial hotel within town limits of what today is South Padre Island. I looked ahead, which had the signs, to the right which had some nondescript construction, and on the left were these cute little A-frame bungalows. They certainly looked old, anyway.

The orange building there is of course Uncle Buggies, a fairly famous dune buggy rental outfit in what looked like an old gas station. I was looking for the article about the owner who recently passed away, since he sounded like a very interesting person. With all the new regulations, dune buggies are now off limits in the dunes but you can ride along the beach in the northern county parts.

And this would be Jake's, reportedly another old jail, cop-shop, and town center. I shot the backside because the palms and sun looked better. Inside there is a very nice courtyard, almost Spanish style.

The Old Brick House

2007-01-02T08:49:00.000-08:00

photo credit: Laurie Gaudi

Here's another Island curiosity located near Gulf and I think Amberjack St., the "old brick house." Thanks to several of y'all for reminding me about this one. Again, we see some influences that could be considered "modernist" or just plain funky old beach house. The use of flying angles is impressive - a 45 degree side angle with a 3:12 roof pitch - no mere cubism here! The large chimney is also curious, though it adds much to its overall charm.

Indeed, there are quite a few houses built on the Island that were designed "outside the box." There are hexagon houses, five-sided houses, an A-frame or two, and at least three geodesic domes. Even the rounded roof is evident today in some brand new construction, a rarity these days.

Over the years there has been quite a discussion of which roof types are best in high winds of hurricane strength (> 74 MPH). One thought is that steeper roofs would not act as an airplane wing and thus incur less damage, although I can no evidence of this after a few tropical storms (knock on wood, none of true hurricane strength in the last few decades). You will note, however, that many put thought into angling the house aspect so the northeast side is the strongest, since that seems to be the prevailing direction during many tropical storms.

In the abaove picture, the northeast is on the right-hand side of the picture. As such, the roof angle would be downwind and not scoop as much wind. Below, an asymmetrical house of five sides, facing towards the northeast. It is brick downstrairs and stucco upstairs.

Still At It

2006-12-28T16:32:00.000-08:00

I appreciate all the phone calls and emails about the historical house theme we have going here. This is a resource not just to my credit but for a whole bunch of people, most of whom know a bazillion times more local history than I. I am still having some difficulty getting around the "downtown" area because not only is the median being redone; the side street drainage is also. But I did manage to find four beauties today.

The Sears house called the 'Seventh Day' was built in 1973 and is still popular as a Gulfside beach house, being very well maintained.

Steve Hathcock referred this house to me as possibly as real old timer on Sunny Isle St. He wasn't sure of the exact history and the owners weren't exactly sure if they wanted me to shoot a picture of their house. I do see some similarities with the old Coast Guard House.

Above, the Palmetto Inn is included, along with its curved front aspect, which is highly unusual anywhere. The sign says "since 1945" but according to local knowledge, that is when the family first started their restaurant business. The present building was built in the mid to late 1950's, still impressive. It is a true cultural landmark.

Here is the last "surfer" trailer left on the Island, due to squatter's right's one would suppose. From an aerial view you can see how a bubble-top 1950's travel trailer was joined up to other partitions. This is the last stand for a mobile trailer park of about six permanent trailers.

* * *

Is my job done yet? Absolutly not. There are more cool houses of historical interest locked away in places all over the Island. I need to verify the location of John L. Tompkins office, for example, and shoot one or two bayside boat houses which have those funky Tiki roof-lines. One Island friend has volunteered to help find old telephone books from the 1950's through 1970's so as to see if the old house is still there, an interesting concept.

swells22@swbell.net

Ila

2006-12-26T20:32:00.000-08:00

I am not sure of the history of Ila "The Turtle Lady" house other than many said it was of significant historical significance on the Island. It certainly has a modernist or "Bauhaus" style described by its rampant cubism, as opposed to other "Tiki" or more conventional beach house styles. The SPI Historical Committee will be working to fill in all these gaps about a lady who not only started the effort to save sea turtles but also was an aviator and owned her own amphibious craft to commute to the mainland. I will continue to collect more historical sites but simply could not proceed without a testimonial to this wonderful lady.

Update on Januery 2, 2007: please cick here for more about Ila.

Historical Structures, Part 3

2006-12-20T11:26:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday I was able to get back out on the streets for the southern end of the Island, which was more of a challenge with all the construction "downtown." I couldn't be as thorough and will add some more as I happen across them. Of all the historical treasures on the Island, perhaps Jim's Pier is one of the best. It was originally built in the early 1950's but was remodelled every few years - even today there were workers fixing the docks. Before that time there were probably some old fish camps on the bayside. Below, six more pictures have been added.

This ole building by Ace Hardware looks like it should have some kind of history!
Update from Troy: this was the old Pico Lumber Company that started in this exact building.

Not a good sign. Here is another of the larger Tiki houses on the Island, noteable for its original cedar shake roofing. I have no idea if it will be moved or simply torn down. This is located down on Tarpon Street.

Here's the Beachcomber's Museum on Pompano. Steve Hathcock ways it used to be a residence and after a bad storm the bottom floor was raised up on pilings and added onto. It is quite a good museum, by the way.

This is the backside of D'Pizza Joint, once reported to be the old jail and cop shop. Back in those days, this was the "downtown" area on Stillman's Landing St. I haven't a clue if the landing was used as such, but the old jail looks as to be doing just fine.

Here's one of the structures by the Upper Deck establishment on Atol Street, another example of the Tiki roof design.

Scattered throughout the Island are a few "modernist" structures which do have some architectural significance. They are usually one story buildings built from block quite low to the ground. This one is on Marlin Street and is noteable in that I was only able to capture a little over half the house, which was built in connecting cubes.

Two more from Amazing

2006-12-20T08:39:00.000-08:00

Amazing Walter sent over a few photos of some historical beach houses, which I like to share here. Please credit Walter "Amazing" McDonald for these.

The first one shown above is the old Coast Guard House which was located on Isla Blanca a long time ago. Somebody hauled the building, which was used for sleeping quarters for the Coasties when on duty, to its present site right on the main drag. Amazing entitled his email "Save the Shack." I'd like to do that although a source tells me it may be infested with termites. While there used to be more barracks and structures for the Coast Guard and mlitary sources, this is the last remaining one we can find. If anyone has any stories about the "shack," please feel free to post a comment.

The second one below is the beloved "Sand Ho" beach house, right on the Gulf. There are few old wooden houses built on telephone poles left along the Gulfside. My suspicion is that most were taken out by Beaulah or constructed since then, when the use of concrete pylons and slabs became much more popular. The units are still being rented, last I checked.

Roof Lines, Part 1

2006-12-19T15:19:00.000-08:00

Constellation St.

Welcome to the SPI History Channel. I had wanted to call the blog "The Hysterical Society" but better judgment prevailed. Basically, I volunteered to shoot some pictures of the older structures on the Island for JoAnn Evans and the Island Historical Committee. I was worried because some bad weather was coming in and a huge fog bank was roiling right off the beach ... but for an amateur, not bad pictures today. I hope you enjoy these pages as they grow.

If you have any pictures of historical significance by all means feel free to share them here. By no means is this a comprehensive study, although with small steps maybe a larger picture will emerge.

Today's photo essay starts at the northern end of the Island. Most of the structures I shot were "Tiki" or Polynesian-inspired designs, all beach houses, with a few 1970 flat-tops thrown in the mix. I found a dozen in about an hour before the light failed. When the sunlight comes back and I have another hour, I'll update things with a Part 2. If there's anything to say I'll put it under the picture as a caption, just so we don't get lost here.

Old flat-top on Constellation, typical of beach houses

Georgia Ruth, note the muted wood tones and bright trim color

Capricorn St. The "swoop" or pitch of the peak and roof edges can vary greatly, and is a lost art in roofing which is why so few remain - nobody really knows how to rebuild them.

A neighbor on Capricorn St. The last house was a simple pitched roof but this one is a hip roof with a 'widow's peak" at either end. I am not sure why these peaks were built, as they serve no function for attic air circulation. One thought is that the wind deflection from these designs made them withstand the hurricane winds better.

Gulf by Venus St. The lift on the roof overhang is pretty impressive.

Saturn St. This one has had the roof redone, maybe with polyurethane or something. It is one of the larger Tiki structures on the Island.

This architecture is a little difficult to place, although it certainly has some Polynesian or Hawaiin influences. Huisache St.

Many of the old beach houses had names such as the 'Blue Parrot' here. Lantana St.

One of the cutest houses is located off Retama. The curved wood must be cut specially with a jigsaw - no straight lines used on this house!

This one has had the benefit of concrete and plaster downstairs, since all when originally built were open on the ground floor. Hibiscus St.

Hey isn't that my 1970 beach house?